Professor Elaine Reese, Our People, Department of Psychology, University of Otago, New Zealand

Elaine Reese

Email elaine.reese@otago.ac.nz
Tel 64 3 479 8441

Professor Elaine Reese is the Education Domain Leader on a national birth cohort study, Growing Up in New Zealand. She has authored over 80 papers. She has served on the Children’s Action Plan, a government committee to help at-risk children. She has been a PI or co-PI on four Marsden grants from the Royal Society of New Zealand.

She has served as Editor of the Journal of Cognition and Development, and on the editorial boards of the journals Cognitive Development, Infant and Child Development, Reading Research Quarterly, and Memory Studies.

Elaine joined the Department in 1993. She has over 20 years of university teaching experience, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. She coordinates the Master’s programme in the Department.

Teaching

PSYC 422 Contemporary Issues in Psychology
PSYC 428 Culture and Development

Research Interests

The development of children’s autobiographical memory, language, and literacy
Social influences on children’s development

Find out more about Professor Reese's research interests

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Publications

Reese, E., Macfarlane, L., McAnally, H., Robertson, S.-J., & Taumoepeau, M. (2020). Coaching in maternal reminiscing with preschoolers leads to elaborative and coherent personal narratives in early adolescence. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 189, 104707. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2019.104707

Mitchell, C., Reese, E., Salmon, K., & Jose, P. (2020). Narrative coherence, psychopathology, and wellbeing: Concurrent and longitudinal findings in a mid-adolescent sample. Journal of Adolescence, 79, 16-25. doi: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.12.003

Atatoa Carr, P. E., Reese, E., Bird, A. L., Bandara, D. K., Grant, C. C., & Morton, S. M. B. (2019). Caring for our infants: Parents’ antenatal childcare intentions and nine-month reality. Early Years, 39(1), 17-35. doi: 10.1080/09575146.2017.1323186

Hazan, H., Reese, E. J., & Linscott, R. J. (2019). Narrative self and high risk for schizophrenia: Remembering the past and imagining the future. Memory. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2019.1642919

Leyva, D., Reese, E., Laible, D., Schaughency, E., Das, S., & Clifford, A. (2019). Measuring parents' elaborative reminiscing: Differential links of parents' elaboration to children's autobiographical memory and socioemotional skills. Journal of Cognition & Development. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/15248372.2019.1668395

Authored Book - Research
Edited Book - Research
Chapter in Book - Research
Chapter in Book - Other
Journal - Research Article

Authored Book - Research

Reese, E. (2013). Tell me a story: Sharing stories to enrich your child's world. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 241p.

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Edited Book - Research

Suggate, S., & Reese, E. (Eds.). (2012). Contemporary debates in childhood education and development. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 352p.

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Chapter in Book - Research

Reese, E. (2017). Encouraging collaborative remembering between young children and their caregivers. In M. L. Meade, C. B. Harris, P. Van Bergen, J. Sutton & A. J. Barnier (Eds.), Collaborative remembering: Theories, research, and applications. (pp. 317-333). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198737865.003.0018

Reese, E. (2015). What good is a picturebook? Developing children's oral language and literacy through shared picturebook reading. In B. Kümmerling-Meibauer, J. Meibauer, K. Nachtigäller & K. J. Rohlfing (Eds.), Learning from picturebooks: Perspectives from child development and literacy studies. (pp. 194-208). Hove, UK: Routledge.

Reese, E., Taumoepeau, M., & Neha, T. (2014). Remember drawing on the cupboard? New Zealand Māori, European, and Pasifika parents’ conversations about children’s transgressions. In C. Wainryb & H. E. Recchia (Eds.), Talking about right and wrong: Parent-child conversations as contexts for moral development. (pp. 44-70). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Reese, E. (2014). Practical tips for conducting longitudinal studies of memory development. In P. J. Bauer & R. Fivush (Eds.), Wiley handbook on the development of children's memory. (pp. 1044-1050). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.

Reese, E. (2014). Taking the long way: Longitudinal approaches to autobiographical memory development. In P. J. Bauer & R. Fivush (Eds.), Wiley handbook on the development of children's memory. (pp. 972-995). Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.

Reese, E. (2013). Culture, narrative, and imagination. In M. Taylor (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of the development of imagination. (pp. 196-211). Oxford University Press.

Reese, E., Sparks, A., & Suggate, S. (2012). Assessing children's narratives. In E. Hoff (Ed.), Research methods in child language: A practical guide. (pp. 133-148). Chichester, UK: Wiley Blackwell.

Reese, E. (2012). The tyranny of shared book-reading. In S. Suggate & E. Reese (Eds.), Contemporary debates in childhood education and development. (pp. 59-68). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Reese, E., Yan, C., Jack, F., & Hayne, H. (2010). Emerging identities: Narrative and self from early childhood to early adolescence. In K. C. McLean & M. Pasupathi (Eds.), Narrative development in adolescence: Creating the storied self. (pp. 23-43). New York: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-89825-4

Schaughency, E., & Reese, E. (2010). Connections between language and literacy development. In J. Low & P. Jose (Eds.), Lifespan development: New Zealand perspectives. (2nd ed.) (pp. 59-71). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson.

Reese, E. (2009). The development of autobiographical memory: Origins and consequences. In P. Bauer (Ed.), Advances in child development and behavior (Vol. 37). (pp. 145-200). The Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2407(09)03704-5

Bird, A., & Reese, E. (2008). Autobiographical memory in childhood and the development of a continuous self. In F. Sani (Ed.), Self continuity: Individual and collective perspectives. (pp. 43-54). NY: Psychology Press.

Reese, E., Newcombe, R., & Bird, A. (2006). The emergence of autobiographical memory: Cognitive, social, and emotional factors. In C. M. Fletcher-Flinn & G. M. Haberman (Eds.), Cognition and language: Perspectives from New Zealand. (pp. 177-190). Brisbane: Australian Academic Press.

Reese, E., Cox, A., Harte, D., & McAnally, H. (2003). Diversity in adults' styles of reading books to children. In A. van Kleeck, S. A. Stahl & E. B. Bauer (Eds.), On reading books to children: Parents and teachers. (pp. 37-57). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reese, E., & Farrant, K. (2003). Social origins of reminiscing. In R. Fivush & C. A. Haden (Eds.), Autobiographical memory and the construction of a narrative self: Developmental and cultural perspectives. (pp. 29-48). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Reese, E. (2002). A model of the origins of autobiographical memory. In J. W. Fagen & H. Hayne (Eds.), Progress in Infancy Research (Vol. 2). (pp. 215-260). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Fivush, R., & Reese, E. (2002). Reminiscing and relating: The development of parent-child talk about the past. In J. D. Webster & B. K. Haight (Eds.), Critical Advances in Reminiscence Work. (pp. 109-122). New York: Springer Publishing.

Haden, C. A., Fivush, R., & Reese, J. E. (1998). Narrative development in social context. In A. Smorti (Ed.), Narrative Development. (pp. 133-152). Florence, Italy: Giunti.

Fivush, R., Pipe, M.-E., Murachver, T. S., & Reese, J. E. (1997). Events spoken and unspoken: implications of language and memory development for the recovered memory debate. In M. A. Conway (Ed.), Recovered Memories and False Memories. (pp. 34-62). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fivush, R., Haden, C., & Reese, E. (1995). Remembering, recounting, and reminiscing: The development of autobiographical memory in social context. In D. C. Rubin (Ed.), Remembering our past: Studies in autobiographical memory. (pp. 341-359). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Fivush, R., & Reese, E. (1992). The social construction of autobiographical memory. In M. A. Conway, D. C. Rubin, H. Spinnler & W. A. Wagenaar (Eds.), Theoretical perspectives on autobiographical memory. (pp. 115-132). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

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Chapter in Book - Other

Reese, E. (2006). Foreword. In J. Low & P. Jose (Eds.), Lifespan development: New Zealand perspectives. (pp. v). Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Education.

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Journal - Research Article

Van Bergen, P., Barnier, A. J., Reese, E., & McIlwain, D. (2019). “There were spooks in the park”: Children's reminiscing with parents and siblings following a staged Halloween event. Journal of Applied Research in Memory & Cognition. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2019.10.003

Fivush, R., Habermas, T., & Reese, E. (2019). Retelling lives: Narrative style and stability of highly emotional events over time. Qualitative Psychology, 6(2), 156-166. doi: 10.1037/qup0000150

Reese, E., Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., & Centifanti, L. (2019). Origins of mother-child reminiscing style. Development & Psychopathology, 31(2), 631-642. doi: 10.1017/s0954579418000172

Reese, E., Gunn, A., Bateman, A., & Carr, M. (2019). Teacher-child talk about learning stories in New Zealand: A strategy for eliciting children’s complex language. Early Years. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09575146.2019.1621804

Corkin, M. T., Dando, E., Peterson, E. R., Andrejic, N., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2018). “The way she smiles brightens me up”: Highlights of parenting an infant in a large nationally diverse cohort. Current Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s12144-018-0014-5

Riordan, J., Reese, E., Rouse, S., & Schaughency, E. (2018). Promoting code-focused talk: The rhyme and reason for why book style matters. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45, 69-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.05.004

Suggate, S., Schaughency, E., McAnally, H., & Reese, E. (2018). From infancy to adolescence: The longitudinal links between vocabulary, early literacy skills, oral narrative, and reading comprehension. Cognitive Development, 47, 82-95. doi: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2018.04.005

Reese, E., Keegan, P., McNaughton, S., Kingi, T. K., Atatoa Carr, P., Schmidt, J., … Morton, S. (2018). Te Reo Māori: Indigenous language acquisition in the context of New Zealand English. Journal of Child Language, 45(2), 340-367. doi: 10.1017/s0305000917000241

Reese, E., & Robertson, S.-J. (2018). Origins of adolescents' earliest memories. Memory. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1512631

Peterson, E. R., Andrejic, N., Corkin, M. T., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2018). I hardly see my baby: Challenges and highlights of being a New Zealand working mother of an infant. Kōtuitui, 13(1), 4-28. doi: 10.1080/1177083X.2017.1391852

Corkin, M. T., Peterson, E. R., Andrejic, N., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2018). Predictors of mothers’ self-identified challenges in parenting infants: Insights from a large, nationally diverse cohort. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 27(2), 653-670. doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0903-5

Peterson, E. R., Waldie, K. E., Mohal, J., Reese, E., Atatoa-Carr, P. E., Grant, C. C., & Morton, S. M. B. (2017). Infant Behavior Questionnaire: Revised very short form: A new factor structure's associations with parenting perceptions and child language outcomes. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(6), 561-573. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2017.1287709

Reese, E., Fivush, R., Merrill, N., Wang, Q., & McAnally, H. (2017). Adolescents' intergenerational narratives across cultures. Developmental Psychology, 53(6), 1142-1153. doi: 10.1037/dev0000309

Schaughency, E., Suggate, S., & Reese, E. (2017). Links between early oral narrative and decoding skills and later reading in a New Zealand sample. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 22, 109-132. doi: 10.1080/19404158.2017.1399914

Robertson, S.-J. L., & Reese, E. (2017). The very hungry caterpillar turned into a butterfly: Children’s and parents’ enjoyment of different book genres. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 17(1), 3-25. doi: 10.1177/1468798415598354

Reese, E., Myftari, E., McAnally, H. M., Chen, Y., Neha, T., Wang, Q., Jack, F., & Robertson, S.-J. (2017). Telling the tale and living well: Adolescent narrative identity, personality traits, and well-being across cultures. Child Development, 88(2), 612-628. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12618

Peterson, E. R., Mohal, J., Waldie, K. E., Reese, E., Atatoa Carr, P., Grant, C. C., & Morton, S. M. B. (2017). A cross-cultural analysis of the infant behavior questionnaire very short form: An item response theory analysis of infant temperament in New Zealand. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(6), 574-584. doi: 10.1080/00223891.2017.1288128

Reese, E., Peterson, E. R., Waldie, K., Schmidt, J., Bandara, D., Atatoa Carr, P., … Morton, S. M. B. (2016). High Hopes? Educational, socioeconomic, and ethnic differences in parents' aspirations for their unborn children. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 25(12), 3657-3674. doi: 10.1007/s10826-016-0521-7

Schaughency, E., Riordan, J., Das, S., Carroll, J., & Reese, E. (2016). Embracing the principle of ako: Growing partnerships between parents, early childhood educators and researchers. Early Childhood Folio, 20(2), 31-36. doi: 10.18296/ecf.0028

Salmon, K., O'Kearney, R., Reese, E., & Fortune, C.-A. (2016). The role of language skill in child psychopathology: Implications for intervention in the early years. Clinical Child & Family Psychology Review, 19(4), 352-367. doi: 10.1007/s10567-016-0214-1

Salmon, K., & Reese, E. (2016). The benefits of reminiscing with young children. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(4), 233-238. doi: 10.1177/0963721416655100

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